trailers
Choice
Scene:Oh, so many to choose…just none of them reprintable.
Tech
Specs: Wide Screen (1.85:1), English Dolby DTS 5.1 surround
sound, English subtitles
Type of disc: Dual Layer Format
What
could be scarier than a clown? How about a clown in drag
getting passed around sexually by a family right out of
an early Wes Craven film? For those who have been waiting
for such a thrill, Vulgar will satisfy your need.
Just please don't tell us who you are.
Actually,
the title might be familiar to Howard Stern fans as a movie
that even he found too disgusting to watch. Such news, of
course, guaranteed that its limited theatrical release would
have a sell-out opening weekend. What remains unclear, however,
is if it was the subject matter or the technical merits
of the movie which bothered Stern. On either count, he was
too harsh.
One
of the highest-profile non-Kevin Smith movies to come out
of View Askew, Vulgar plays as a throwback to 70's
underground cinema. Some of it might have made a young John
Waters jealous. Certainly the strange father/son dynamic
has a grotesque charm.
As
you might expect, Bryan Johnson's writing/directing debut
has all the talkiness of his mentor's work. And with references
to characters like Walt Flanagan's dog, Vulgar acts
as a companion piece to the other Askewniverse films. A
minor piece, maybe, but it still fits. However, Johnson
does have his own rhythm, and proves himself to be a writer
to watch.
But
is Vulgar all that shocking?
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Who
hasn't felt like this some mornings?
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Surprisingly,
no. Johnson populates his movie with lowlifes and the expected
gross humor, but it all feels faked. We never believe that
Will Carlson a.k.a. Flappy/Vulgar The Clown (Bryan O'Halloran)
could have these things happen to him. He may not be a great
clown, but he clearly has a good heart. It's just that Johnson
stacks the deck so highly against him that even before he
suffers "the incident," it's become cartoonish. Homeless
guys sleep (and crap) in his car. Stuck in a resthome, his
mother drifts in and out of senility, but never hostility.
And even before becoming Vulgar, Will's client list seems
too white trash.
For
all the hullabaloo, the supposedly shocking centerpiece
plays out rather tamely. Perhaps people imagine more than
they actually see, because it's not graphic, and certainly
less violent than many more "acceptable" films. Johnson
films it as tastefully as one can film a clown violations,
I guess. Critics (and Stern) must have been more offended
by the idea than the actual execution.
As
for the acting, well, since Clerks, O'Halloran hasn't
really gotten much better. But everyone in this movie affects
an overdone style (or maybe it's not affectation), so the
lead looks well-supported. Surprisingly, the actor who makes
the best impression is Smith himself, as a sleazy New Jersey
TV producer. The only person underplaying, Smith makes an
unbelievable character almost believable, giving energy
to every scene he's in.
In
the DVD extras, too, Smith dominates. Though he gives over
most of the commentary to Johnson and O'Halloran, the major
inclusion here is a 30 minute or so featurette about Dogma.
Specifically,
it covers the religious furor touched off by that flawed
but fascinating movie. Vulgar may not make you want
to hear the commentary (and yes, it sometimes comes off
as way too self-congratulating), but for Smith fans, you
have to get this disc for the Dogma documentary.
Deemed too controversial for the Columbia/Tri-Star release
of the DVD, only a small company like Lion's Gate could
get away with its conclusion. (Columbia feared it insulted
Disney and Michael Eisner, as once upon a time, they were
to distribute the film.)
While
not the Citizen Kane of clown movies (a space reserved
for Shakes The Clown), Vulgar might qualify
as the genre's The Magnificent Ambersons. If that
hasn't gotten too pretentious for you right there, check
it out.
Vulgar
(Unrated Edition)
